Please enjoy another heartfelt short essay from Volunteer John Ratliff a/k/a JW. Although he does not name the violinist one can imagine he is writing about his beautiful and talented daughter Amélie!

Practice

She stood alone in front of the stand, mentally preparing as she studied the notes on the page. Bow in hand, she tucked her instrument under her chin, drew in a deep breath and began.

Her working piece, Pugnani – Kreisler’s Praeludium and Allego, is a very complex, technically demanding and magnificently beautiful composition. By the time she finished playing it all the way through she was exhausted, her brow moist with sweat, her arms and shoulders aching. She was glowing, the smile on her face filled with a hard-earned satisfaction. “Still much work to be done, but getting there, definitely getting there!” Dedicated musicians who play with passion, who reach deep inside themselves, giving everything they have to make a performance come alive, understand the importance of practice. Like all athletes, they know that preparation is the fertile soil where all championships and command performances are conceived.

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